Smart Business Magazine, Mar 2013

6 Smart Business Columbus March 2013 While that may be true you dont typically buy an accountant online as you would a product through e commerce how your brand is perceived most definitely will impact a prospects buying decision Decisions to work with professional service firms dont happen overnight They take time And because of this any B2B organization must ensure it is seen in the strongest possible light before the sale actually occurs In fact its just as important to not lose prospective customers because your organization is perceived as weak or subpar as it is to convert a prospect into a client The simple truth is that you never know at any given time who is researching your brand and through what channel Having a consistent brand message whether theyre looking to engage you now or somewhere down the road helps you to not lose them before they need your solutions To accomplish this you must get your brand messaging across in a consistent manner across multiple channels So how do you that First a solid marketing strategy must include a website that clearly articulates the brand message and value proposition The power and reliability of consistent messaging How your brand is perceived by prospects impacts buying decisions for every client baseof your services and it has to be on the home page It also should include supporting content that allows a prospective customer to quickly understand who you are what you do and why youre different For example lets say youre an accounting firm Being able to articulate why you are the best at providing risk management solutions for clients can help you differentiate yourself in the marketplace Providing and highlighting content that explains your service along with case studies and client examples that include measurable results is a smart move It allows prospects and site visitors to get a feel of what it would be like to work with you Additionally your website should offer prospective clients an easy way to contact you either through a phone number or a simple contact form that includes a name email address phone number and short explanation of the prospects business problem Beyond your website other channels to consider include social media which includes LinkedIn Facebook YouTube and Twitter In these social media channels you need more than just simple company pages Instead you should offer visitors relevant and current content that consistently supports the brand message and your organizations value proposition along with company information and executive profiles And its extremely important to continually be active Using the same accounting firm as an example it could utilize consistent content around recent changes to government policies updates on recent business wins or sharing a solution that helped one of its clients overcome a business challenge across all social media channels And when that information isnt timely something as simple as new hire announcements or employee promotions will show visitors and followers that there is activity within your brand and your organization It makes you active which makes you more attractive to prospects Other channels to think about include mobile or tablet experiences print marketing and event sponsorship Every channel you can imagine should be used to express your organizations brand message because there are always people watching So while your clients may not choose or buy their professional services online they will evaluate your brand even prior to consideration And while its impossible to measure what clients you may lose by not having this strategy in place it is clear that a solid marketing strategy of this type can save you from losing consideration even when you dont know youre being considered When I meet with business to business and professional service clients to discuss their marketing strategies one comment that consistently arises is No one buys professional services through the Web David Fazekas is vice president of digital marketing for Smart Business Network Reach him at dfazekas@ sbnonline com or 440 250 7056 MARKETING STRATEGY DAVID FAZEKAS HAVE AN IDEA TO SHARE Engage with us on Twitter @ Smart_ Business

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